Sharjah, I love you.

I’m going to Sharjah in a couple of days… The last time I went, I was really excited. Happy. I blogged about my last trip and learnt a lot even though I didn’t go out of the house much. All that was fun but… this time it’s different. I’m older, more experienced… I know what life is about…

Just kidding :-p I’m still a kid lol but it’s different because this might be my last time in the UAE for a long time. That feels weird because I’ve never been as attached to a place in the world as I am to Sharjah. I have not ever “lived” there, and it’s generally a pretty cold and artless place, but there are hidden treasures of beauty in its emptiness. There is a secret life inside all that cement, all the artificial mud/grass/trees, and the men and women covered from head to toe in white and black respectively…

I love Sharjah for its traditionality and conservatism. There is a lot of commerce (not like Dubai though) but they have not been sold to sex. It’s perfectly normal to see women in western clothes and women in arab clothes and women in indian clothes walking on the same road, not uncomfortable in each other’s presence. Men don’t make women uncomfortable by staring weirdly or talking funny. In fact I’m not sure I’ve seen many men talking to women unless they are with them. And I am in love with their dress and if I could, I would wear a Jilbab all the time, at least when I’m not in the house.

The last time I went to Sharjah my Dad and my brother taught me how to cook on the first day. And every day after that they went to work while I stayed home and did some housework, that was the first time in my life that I felt responsible and womanly. That is not to say that “a woman’s place is in the kitchen” but to say that it felt good to look after our home while the men went out to work. Personally and biblically I think it’s great if women work, but I feel I would really miss out if my work took away from the nurturing aspect of my family responsibilities.

Star Cineplex at the City Centre, Sharjah plays only hindi movies. I watched 4 movies the last time I went there (Vivah, Dhoom 2, Apna Sapna Money Money and Rehguzar… Vivah was the ONLY good movie lol) but the multiplex is great. It’s got no security you can take anything you want inside, including cameras and videocameras and big bulky shopping bags. But it’s Sharjah their crime record is practically zero so I’ve never heard of anyone blowing up a theatre. Also they used to have new movie releases on Wednesday, because their weekend was Thursday & Friday. But they recently changed their weekend to Friday and Saturday (which in my opinion is the most accurate weekend…) so new movies release on Thursday. Which means, Indian movies play there 1 day before they are released here. And there is no security. See why Indian Cable TV shows all the newest movies at the same time as they are released here? haha. (All the best pirated copies of movies do come from the UAE that is a known thing, right?)

Domino’s Pizza in Sharjah is opposite the beautiful Khalid lagoon, very near the Millennium Hotel. Only one vegetarian pizza, but it’s good pizza.

If God wills, I will live and go to Sharjah next week and write a blog. What an incredible place it is.

Literal Translation vs Paraphrase

I was singing “Tere Bina” to myself and I came to this bit:

“Tere bina sona peetal, tere sang keekar peepal, aaja…” and I thought of a new meaning to it today which didn’t strike me yesterday. This line basically says “without you around even gold seems like brass and when you’re around the keekar tree is like a peepal tree” which yesterday I would have translated as “there’s no difference between a keekar tree and a peepal tree when I’m with you, cos I’m focusing on you and not on the trees” (keekar trees and peepal trees are very different from each other).

But today when I was singing I thought hmmm why does he mention keekar and peepal? Just to make it rhyme? And it struck me then, keekar trees are kinda… skinny and well pretty looking but peepal trees are huge and comforting and nice to sit under.. etc. I was thinking maybe this line means that even a keekar tree feels like a peepal tree because of this person being around. Cos a pretty thing like gold becomes plain like brass without the person, but with the person a plain thing like the keekar becomes a peepal. Maybe.

So with Bible translations. 2 reasons why I prefer literal translations over paraphrased ones:

1. You’re reading the real text and not the translator’s interpretation of it. That means, you’re not reading it as “the two trees are the same” but as “the keekar is like the peepal”. On the surface that’s the same, and maybe the first translation is one correct interpretation, but it’s still an interpretation and not necessarily the most “real” possible translation text. There are no 2nd meanings left to think about, what the words say is simple and clear, no 2 ways to read the same text. So the comfort from that text might be restricted to lesser situations also… maybe.
2. When you’re reading the text instead of an interpretation of the text, you get to apply your mind and interpret it for yourself. I think interpretation of scripture is an important sign for christians because the Holy Spirit is the Counselor who leads us in truth. If we can’t understand the truth ourselves, we need to pray for wisdom not just rely on someone else’s understanding of truth… And meditating on an interpretation of the text is not the same as meditating on the text itself. There is so much depth in the words of the Bible that is lost in interpretation. *Some* is lost in translation, but that is a negligible loss - loss by interpretation is a more serious loss in my opinion.

I know lots of people read only paraphrased texts because literal ones are not too readable or something. I admit translations which are literal like Young’s Literal can be quite impossible to read through smoothly, and even the KJV gives people trouble because of the old english- but the ESV and other literal ones maybe even the Amplified and NASB etc (I’ve heard good things about them) are a good idea.

Tere Bina

Tere bina beswaadi
beswaadi ratiyaan, oh sajna
Rookhi re oh rookhi re,
Kaatore kaate katena …

… Tere bina chaand ka sona khota re
Peeli peeli dhool udaawe jhoota re
Tere bina sona peetal
Tere sang keekar peepal
Aaja katena ratiyaan

Sigh. [Late reaction I know, I just fell in love with this song from Guru.] I’m not going to try to translate it. Sorry. Hindi speakers welcome to do it for me though. And I might take off the video soon so watch it while it’s on… if you want. It’s the song from the movie I love the colours and choreography and singing. This song is about a married couple living apart missing each other and imagining this sequence. In the end, the husband comes to take his wife back (stepping out of the imaginary song into real movie life). The best part of this video is the end.